Yes, Oklahoma residents need safe rooms.

Oklahoma residents should be required to get a shelter or safe room in case of a tornado. Insurance companies should not have to pay out huge financial sums in the needless deaths of Oklahomians just because they decided to be cheap and not have a shelter. Each shelter should also be required to be stocked with enough food and water for seven days.

You Can Lead a Horse to Water...

As my title begins by stating the homage "you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink." The same applies to this situation; you can dictate to all Oklahomians (or anyone who lives in what is called "tornado alley" really) that they must build a specific room or shelter for the purposes of use during a tornado, but even should it be built, you can't force them to use it. And what of the instance where they are not at home during the time a tornado touches down? If you force all homeowners to build shelters, should you thus also force all public areas -such as stores, businesses, and schools- to have shelters as well? Yes, I know that many schools already have shelters. That's not the point.

The case of the most recent high-news tornado in which 20 people last count died due to congestion on the highway while they attempted to flee is a prime point. New or old homeowners, they decided for some reason -whether it was lack of care, because they rent and thus have no right to make the decision, or anything else- not to build an UNDERGROUND shelter, as is recommended. It was repeatedly stated that "if you cannot get underground, then flee". Key word being underground. A safe room is not all that safe if the entire house around it can get torn away.

Again, assert that even if you force someone to build a safe room or shelter, you can't make them use it. The topic makes no leeway for those who live in apartment complexes, rent from someone else (thus having no say in the building or otherwise), or do not have money to begin a costly renovation on their existing buildings.